


There's a force that carries me on

by letmeloveyou814



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1990s, Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, Angel/Human Relationships, M/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-25 22:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16669525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letmeloveyou814/pseuds/letmeloveyou814
Summary: If Paul didn’t know better, he could swear that new acoustic guitar on the shop was glaring at him. But of course, that wasn’t possible and Paul usually saw things that weren’t supposed to be there when he was this tired.





	There's a force that carries me on

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a total mess because this was supposed to be posted a few days after Halloween but I just couldn't finish it! My awesome friend [lemoncave](http://archiveofourown.org/users/lemoncave/pseuds/lemoncave) had this great idea and now we've started this thing called McLennon Holiday Fic Exchange® which is just an excuse for us to write more McLennon.  
> She got to choose our prompt for Halloween which is "Paul or John as the guardian angel saving the other from a guitar." (You can find hers [right here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16485140).)
> 
> A special thanks to another good friend of mine, [Lady-hakunamatata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_hakunamatata/pseuds/Lady_hakunamatata), who was willing to basically be my beta for this even though she doesn't particularly like this ship. My darling, you're so amazing for doing this for me, you don't know how grateful I am!
> 
> (Title from the song Forget by Marina and the Diamonds)

If Paul didn’t know better, he could swear that new acoustic guitar on the shop was glaring at him. But of course, that wasn’t possible and Paul usually saw things that weren’t supposed to be there when he was this tired.

Paul walked out of the store into the rainy streets of Seattle, happy to have finally finished his shift. What he desperately needed now was a good cup of coffee and that was thankfully not hard to find in the city that he had now learned to call home.

His friend George was waiting for him at their usual table in their favourite coffee shop, his big smile brightening up the room as Paul entered.

“Oi, Paul!” his friend waved at him excitedly as he finished ordering his coffee.

“Mate, I saw you this morning, how can you be so happy?” Paul asked, clutching onto his coffee cup for dear life.

“I know but…” suddenly, George’s expression turned sad “I spent the whole day thinking about home and you’re the only thing that I have from there” his friend explained.

Ah yes. The nostalgia that often made itself present in their lives was there again. See, Seattle was home to Paul and George now and it had been for the past 3 years but they were far away from their real home, the place they’d grew up in. A little bit after they finished school, Paul and George decided to leave Liverpool and try to see the world. It hadn’t been easy at first, Paul’s dad and George’s parents were opposed to the idea of them leaving but eventually, they agreed to it. It had taken the two friends almost three months of living in dodgy motels before they could find jobs and a semi-decent place to live. Once they got settled though, they just couldn’t look back. England would always be their home but Seattle was different, full of energy and music and new possibilities.

Why Seattle? Because of the music. George and Paul loved music more than anything, both played guitars and were pretty good singers and there was something about Seattle and the movement that had originated there a few years back that was just calling to them and they just couldn’t wait to see what the grunge scene had to offer to them and what they had to offer to it.

“What was it this time George?” Paul asked, taking a sip of his coffee, sighing as the hot liquid soothed his cold body.

“Just…” George looked up from his cup “The rain?” he asked sheepishly.

“George!” Paul rolled his eyes “The rain? Really? It rains all the time here! You’re telling me you get sad every time it rains because it reminds you of Liverpool?”

George covered his face with both hands, grunting “I just miss it so much, you know?”

“I know you do, George! I miss home too but you can’t live like this, you can’t get sad every single time it rains because you’ll go crazy! We should have moved to Miami or something!”

George lowered his hands and looked at his friend wide-eyed “Don’t you ever say that again!” he pointed an accusatory finger at the boy in front of him “We came here because we don’t like sunny places!”

“We came here because **you** don’t like sunny places!” Paul was the one pointing his finger at his friend now “And that’s not even why we came here and you know it! We came here because we wanted to make it in the music industry, because we wanted to see what the fuss was about here!”

“I know, I know” George said, deflated.

The two friends stayed like that for a while, not saying much, just enjoying one or two cups of coffee and each other’s company. George seemed relaxed now, no longer sad or trying to hide his feelings by being over-enthusiastic, just calm.

Paul however couldn’t help but think he was being watched, _again._ He couldn’t really explain why or how, he just had been feeling that for _weeks_. Sometimes he swore he could see someone moving out of the corner of his eye when he was all alone at home. Sometimes it was that nagging feeling at the back of his neck, a shiver going down his spine. Every time he turned though, there was no one there.

After a while, the two friends headed outside, ready to go home after a long day of work. The sky was clear now, the clouds giving way to the beautiful night sky, the tall buildings and the Seattle needle against electric blue making a scene that made Paul think of _heaven_ and of his mum.

Paul started walking, eyes looking up, so distracted by the stars he could see above them that he didn’t notice when he stepped on the street, a car horn the only thing that made him look at his side and he froze as the headlights of the car that was approaching him were near enough to almost blind him.

“PAUL!” he could hear George calling out to him but he just couldn’t move.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms pulled him back onto the sidewalk, away from the danger.

Paul sat on the ground for what felt like hours, panting, grabbing his chest as if he feared his heart would leap out. The strong arms that were around his waist were no longer there, instead a boy that couldn’t have been much older than him came to stand in front of Paul, also panting and with a worried look on his face.

“There you go, you’re safe now” the stranger swallowed, giving him a small smile before he left down the sidewalk, leaving Paul speechless, barely aware of the fact that George was at his side now, shaking his shoulders.

“Paul! Paul! Are you okay?” Paul looked at his friend and gave a small nod, without taking his eyes off the direction his saviour had gone. He could swear he could still see him but after he had blinked it was like he had just vanished.

“Paul, look at me!” George demanded, concern evident in his face “That’s it” he said once his friend turned his head in his direction “Let’s go home, okay?” Paul nodded once again and let himself be helped to his feet and started walking, an arm over his shoulders, his heart still beating frantically on his chest.

“Oh my God Paul! You scared the shit out of me! You were walking ahead of me, I look away for a minute and suddenly you’re on the street and there’s a car coming!” George sounded as shaken as Paul was “You’re lucky that guy got to you in time! Did he say anything? Who was he anyway?”

 _He’s like an angel._ Paul thought but when his friend looked at him for an answer, he just shrugged.

 

* * *

 

 

That night Paul couldn’t sleep. His mind kept replaying the moment he was saved by that guy. He couldn’t forget the moment of sheer panic he felt, how he felt like his feet were glued to the pavement; how those arms around him made him feel safe immediately and especially, the guy’s look on his face when Paul was on the ground, those eyes looking softly at him and Paul couldn’t help but feel like he looked familiar.

The following weeks kept getting weirder and weirder. He kept seeing that guy everywhere. He always seemed to be there whenever Paul was in trouble. One day he got too distracted walking (again) and almost tripped over a girl who was reading on the grass in the park and there he was, placing a strong hand on Paul’s chest, stopping him from falling. That time the guy smiled at him, nodded his head, turned around and left without saying a thing.

A few days later Paul finished his shift and exited the shop with a sigh of relief. It was strange, Paul thought, how the place that contained everything he loved had suddenly become a source of stress for him. It wasn’t even the amount of work he had to do, just stepping inside of the shop made him feel uneasy, counting the minutes until he could finally go home and relax.

Paul decided to sit down on a bench that was on his favourite park in Seattle, just a few blocks away from the music shop to try and make sense of what was happening: why did the shop make him feel that way? He thought he was going crazy and so, with shaking hands he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket but when he tried to light it he realised he couldn’t find his lighter anywhere.

“Great! Just great!” Paul huffed, sinking down into the bench, he honestly felt like crying. As Paul covered his face with his hands he felt someone sit beside him and heard the click of a lighter. Paul turned to his right and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the guy who had saved him, holding a lighter next to his mouth. Paul approached it, still holding the stranger’s gaze once he took the first drag of his cigarette.

‘Mystery boy’, as Paul had started calling him in his head, was looking at him intently, the faintest hint of a smile on his face. His clothes were odd, Paul thought, as if he were a grandpa who tried to ‘keep up with the kids and their new trends’. He was wearing slacks and-were those dress shoes? But the top was very similar to what Paul wore on a daily basis: plaid long sleeve shirt on top of a black t-shirt and a baggy jean jacket that almost looked like it had been rescued off a dumpster. In plain sight it was difficult to figure out what was wrong with his outfit but Paul, being as close to the guy as he was, found it strange and couldn’t help but think that he looked like a walking anachronism.

“Uhm… Hi…” Paul said after a few minutes, when the silence and the guy’s eyes were starting to make his skin itch.

“Hi.” The guy smiled broadly this time and something in the way his eyes started sparkling made Paul feel warm all over, as if he was being wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket.

When it was obvious the stranger wasn’t going to say anything else, Paul decided to take the matter in his own hands “So… Uhm…” Paul was grateful for his cigarette giving him something to occupy his hands with as he looked down at his lap, now unable to hold the other man’s gaze for much longer. “I keep bumping into you and you...” Paul inhaled, suddenly feeling very vulnerable “You keep helping me out and I don’t even know your name, I don’t even know who you are” Paul dared to look up and his breath hitched at the way the sun that suddenly peaked through the heavy clouds above them seemed to make the guy glow. Paul thought the guy was pretty decent up until that moment but now? Now Paul thought he was absolutely beautiful.

The guy just looked at him for a moment before extending his hand for Paul to shake “I’m John, nice to meet you” his voice made something in Paul’s stomach flutter and he had no idea what was happening right now.

“I’m Paul” he said as he shook John’s hand, trying his best not to hold it for longer than he should.

“Yeah I know” John said but suddenly his eyes widened. “I mean… Uhm.” He rubbed the back of his neck as Paul looked at him with his brow furrowed. “I uhm heard your friend call you that?” He tried and, even though Paul was still suspicious, he let it slip for now.

“So… How is it that you’re always there when I’m in trouble? And why would you want to help me? We don’t even know each other!” Paul asked, a flash of a memory fleetingly passing through his mind. Before he could see it clearly though, it vanished.

John just shrugged. “I don’t know, I just like helping others.” His voice had become lazy, almost syrupy, and it made Paul suddenly feel a bit sleepy.

“Hang on!” Paul became aware of something that he hadn’t realised before, how could he be so stupid! “You have a Liverpool accent! How is it that I didn’t notice that before?”

John chuckled and, even though Paul thought it was the most wonderful sound in the world, he had the feeling this wasn’t the first time he heard John laugh. “Scouser through and through, mate!” John placed a hand over his heart and looked to the horizon, as if reminiscing about better times.

Paul just chuckled and wondered if he hadn’t seen John before in their hometown “Where did you go to school?”

“I didn’t go to school.” John frowned, suddenly looking a lot smaller.

“Oh, why was that?” It occurred to Paul that he may have been overstepping but he couldn’t help it, he just wanted to know all he could about John.

“I uh… I just couldn’t.”

John looked down at his hands that were fiddling with the buttons of his jacket. Suddenly Paul felt as if a heavy weight had been placed on his chest and he had no idea why.

After a few minutes in which neither uttered a sound, Paul started feeling hungry, his stomach interrupting the silence between the two men. He put his hands on top of his belly and looked at John embarrassed. They shared a look and then started laughing until both had tears in their eyes.

“Hey!” John said, cleaning his eyes with his sweater paws that Paul thought were adorable. “Do you wanna go get something to eat?” he gave Paul a soft smile that made him feel light as a feather.

“Yeah sure!” Paul answered, showing John a smile of his own.

 

* * *

 

 

Paul woke up the next day with a huge smile on his face. He had shown John his favourite coffee shop where they spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the night just talking and drinking insane amounts of coffee. John had saved him (once again, what was new?) when Paul couldn’t find his wallet to pay for their coffees and sandwiches.

John was fascinating. If Paul thought he looked like he belonged to another time completely, talking to John only cemented that idea. He sometimes talked with the wisdom of a much older man but he also talked like every other young adult on Liverpool. Paul found the contradiction completely endearing. John had moved to Seattle not long after Paul; he had no family left in Liverpool and just needed a fresh start.

Paul found out many things during their conversation, the most prominent was the fact that he definitely had a crush on John. He was absolutely gorgeous and adorable and Paul felt as if he was a magnet that kept pulling him in his direction and he had no way of escaping it.

Ready to start his day, Paul made himself a cup of coffee and headed straight for the music shop. His mood got progressively worse as he neared his destination and he realised his hands were shaking as he tried to put the key in the lock that opened the store. As he went inside, Paul was hit with a wave of panic and immediately ran towards the back to turn the lights on. When he got to the counter at the front, he saw that the guitar he thought was looking at him a few weeks before was right there on the floor. Paul was sure it was hanging on the wall when he left the shop the previous day.

All of a sudden the guitar started shaking violently, dark blue sparkles coming out of it. Paul was frozen on the spot, his limbs felt like lead and his heart felt like it was about to beat off his chest.

The instrument stood upright and started moving in Paul’s direction. As it got nearer Paul covered his eyes, thinking he was going to die.

Then, he heard the door being opened and when he opened his eyes, it was to see that it was John who had entered the shop but he wasn't scared like Paul was. Instead, he had a determined look on his face as he ran to get in between the guitar and Paul.

“Oh no, not today!” He exclaimed as bright rays of white light emanated from his hands and towards the guitar, forcing it to get away from Paul, who watched the whole scene wide-eyed and still unmoving.

For some unknown reason, an image of his mother had invaded Paul’s mind: it was as if she was standing right there in front of him, right next to a red-headed woman, both surrounded by the same white light that came from John’s hands.

John glanced behind his shoulder as he kept trying to defeat the guitar “Jesus, Paul! Paul get away! Get behind the counter or something, anything, just get away!” he pleaded desperately.

Paul did as was told and scrambled to get away from danger. He didn’t understand what was happening. From his hiding place all he could see was the light as he heard John’s grunts. After a few minutes he got the courage to peak from where he was to see what was going on. John was still fighting: the guitar was losing ground and being consumed by the light until it completely shattered into thousands of tiny fragments of wood and metal. Paul ducked to avoid getting hit by them and when he came back up he saw John collapsing into the floor.

Paul hurried to where the other boy was and sunk to his knees next to him, tentatively placing a hand on John’s shoulder.

“Hey… Are you alright?” Paul asked softly, concern evident in his voice.

“You shouldn’t be the one asking that. I should make sure you’re okay, it’s my job.” John snorted, his head low, his breathing slowly going back to normal.

“What do you mean? What happened, John?” Paul asked, more confused than before.

John ran a hand through his hair and slowly turned to look at him. “Okay. I think it’s time I tell you.” He said and moved to kneel in front of Paul.

“Tell me what?” But before Paul had a chance to say anything else, John had both of his hands on either side of Paul’s head and was looking into his eyes.

Paul saw a small flash of white light again before images started flooding his mind. They were memories from the worst day in Paul’s life. His eyes widened and he moved back and away from John.

“Oh my God!” Paul covered his mouth with his hands and started crying. “You were there!” John just nodded, a defeated look on his face “You were there the day my mum died, at the funeral!”

John looked younger in his memory but Paul knew it was him. The day his mother died was a day Paul tried to never think about, there was absolutely nothing about that day that made him feel the least bit okay. Or so he thought…

_People were gathered at his house to say goodbye to Mary, the most amazing woman Paul had ever had the pleasure of knowing. At a certain point Paul just couldn’t take it, he had to get away from there, and so he ran out of his house into a neighbour’s backyard and sat on the swings there, just needing to clear his mind._

_Suddenly he saw a boy his age next to him and he felt peaceful, like the hand that seemed to be clutching his heart had eased its pressure a little bit. He had been with the boy well into the night when his father had sent for him. Before he had to leave though, the boy showed him how he could make small beams of light come out of his hands and promised he would always be there to help Paul; that he would never have to be alone again, but he told him he wouldn’t see him again._

_When Paul returned home and was asked where he had been he just said he was in the swings all alone because he couldn’t remember the boy who had made his heart a bit lighter that day._

Paul lifted up his gaze to look at John and started feeling calmer. This time though, he could feel that the sensation came from John.

“What are you…?” Paul couldn’t find words to say what he wanted to say. “How are you doing that? What happened? Why were you there? Why are you here? How did you know I was here?”

“Okay just… Let me explain, you can ask more questions later, alright? Just listen to me now” Paul just nodded. “Well, this is the thing: I was born in Liverpool, except I was born in the 20s and died at a very early age, I don’t really remember how old I was and…”

“You what?” Paul shouted, still confused.

“Hey! You said you wouldn’t say anything!” John pointed an accusatory finger at him and Paul put up both hands in surrender “Yes, I died. So did my mum and my aunt, I think it was an accident or something like that, I don’t know. Sometimes you get a second chance when you die at such an early age. I wasn’t always great when I was alive but I think my mum may have had something to do with that so I did get a second chance. I was assigned a person I would take care of and that person was you. I was granted some ‘powers’” He made the air quotes with his fingers “and permission to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, unless that requires me to hurt someone else, and that basically makes me an angel so yeah, I’m your guardian angel!” he announced with a big smile and arms open wide.

“Hang on! My guardian angel? How? Why can I see you just now? Why didn’t I remember seeing you on the day my mum died?”

“Well…” John scratched the back of his head “Technically I wasn’t ready yet to be seen by you then. I mean, I have been taking care of you since you were born but there was really no need for you to see me when you were so little, there aren’t many dangers at that stage. When your mum died I felt like you needed something more than just me helping you feel calm and so I appeared. I had to make you forget because I still didn’t know if I wanted you to see me or not.”

“What??? I know you’re trying to explain but I keep getting more confused.” Paul explained.

“Sorry. Okay, we have the choice to remain unseen for the rest of our assignment’s life or we can kind of come back to Earth more or less as humans but with our powers and everything and live with you in my case and grow old with you. Nobody chooses to come back to Earth. I didn’t know what I wanted to do yet. Seeing you that day was an impromptu decision and it was messy, I didn’t even have permission to do that! That’s why you had to forget it”

“Nobody chooses that? Why?” John shrugged “And why did you decide to come back?”

John looked at the floor. “I saw you. I mean, I had seen you every single day but being there with you in person made me decide to come back. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to grow old with you.”

Paul was left speechless. After a few minutes he crawled to kneel in front of John and grabbed his hand. John looked at him a bit startled, surprised by the action.

“I…” Paul realised he was crying again. “The car, the girl in the park, the lighter, my wallet; you knew where you had to be to help me, right?” John nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat.

With his free hand, Paul cupped John’s cheek and closed the distance between them, pressing their lips together. They kissed for a while, melting into each other’s arms until they had to part for air.

“What about the guitar? What was that?” Paul asked, still confused.

“Well, I have no idea about the guitar, I don’t know who sent it, if it was on purpose or an accident, I don’t know who has the power to do that or anything. I’m just glad I _know_ when you’re in danger so I can come and rescue you.” John explained.

Paul smiled and remembered something else he was curious about. “When you were fighting it I saw my mum standing right here but she was not alone, there was a woman with red hair next to her, who was that?”

John swallowed again “Yeah that was… That was my mum. That does happen sometimes. I haven’t seen her since I came back and at times, when I’m too stressed or tired or even when I ask her she can appear like that. She’s not allowed to take a definite shape or be here for long but she can do that. And as for your mum… Well, I’ve met her and even if you can’t see her, she also comes visit you a lot.”

Paul started crying then, as did John and they hugged, holding onto the other for dear life. A minute or so later, Paul moved away from the hug to look at John in the eyes.

“I’m so glad you decided to come back to Earth John, you have no idea.”

John showed his biggest smile, a fond expression in his eyes “I am glad I did too, Paul. I really am.”

 

**_The end._ **


End file.
